UPDATED: Click Here for an update on what Heath Ledger’s death means for Dark Knight.

By now, all of us have heard the sad news about Heath Ledger’s death. As we all know, Heath is set to appear in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which opens on July 18th. So what impact will Heath Ledger’s death have on the film?
Right now Warner Bros. is saying all the right things:

“The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”

Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan and Heath talked about the film and Heath’s role as the Joker, months earlier. From MSNBC.com:

“It was a very great challenge for Heath,” Nolan said. “He’s extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic.”

Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he “stressed out a little too much” during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.”

“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” Ledger told the newspaper. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he took two Ambien pills, which only worked for an hour, the paper said.

Things did not sound good for Heath even then. But Heath Ledger’s death likely will only create more curiosity and interest in what was already going to be a big summer movie. Unfortunately for us, it will also be Heath Ledger’s last.